Education Quarterly Reviews

Building on the achievements of the programs of the African Union Commission on school nutrition on the one hand, and striving to achieve the quality standards approved by the United Nations included in the program "Changing the education”, and through a review of the health and nutrition literature, using a content analysis guide to extract implications for school feeding, and consultation with nutritionists to develop practical mechanisms that take into account of the peculiarity of Algerian nutrition, using and a semi-directed interview guide. This study aims to strengthen efforts to improve school feeding in Algeria by creating a model of technical sheets for school feeding in order to prepare healthy meals (lunch / collation), of high quality for school children all over Algeria.


Introduction
Over the past three years, the world has experienced a slowdown in development due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted many development programs in general and in Africa in particular. And among these development programs what is related to food security on the African continent and its relationship with the promotion of health and nutrition of children in order to ensure an appropriate school environment and to overcome the difficulties that prevent the access to education, as well as increasing the retention rate in schools.
Based on the results of the seventh edition of Africa School Nutrition Day, organized by the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union Commission, on 1 March 2022, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme, under the slogan "Nutrition and Human Capital Development in Africa through Increased Investment in Local School Feeding", the recommendations of the seventh edition of the Africa Day of School Nutrition were represented in nine (09) points, mainly focused on encouraging to continue to increase the funding of school feeding programs according to the capacities of each country, to restore the gains made before Covid-19, such as the goal of reaching the threshold of 60 million school children benefiting from the daily school meal. This was noted by the Minister of National Education in Algeria, through his speech on the occasion of the African Day of School Feeding, where he spoke of the efforts made by the Algerian State in terms of promotion of school nutrition, to which the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid TEBBOUNE, pays great attention, where the State has drawn up an ambitious policy with a view to generalizing the benefit of school nutrition based mainly on construction programs and renovation of canteens, generalizing school nutrition and making it available to all primary school children. The number of school canteens increased by 36%, with a notable increase in the number of schoolchildren benefiting by 66%. On the other hand, the State has decided to increase the cost of meals by (44%) during the 2022-2023 school year, considering the school canteen as a complement to the educational act.
And on the basis of the commitment of the Algerian State to contribute to the efforts of the African Union to promote school nutrition in Africa and its support for all mechanisms that would develop school nutrition based on local products, for a development sustainability of the African continent. The Ministry of National Education works in collaboration with several ministerial sectors to embody and develop these systems, either in the field of scientific research, as is the case with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Ministry of Health and Hospital Reform, either in the field of program implementation with both the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities and Regional Planning, the Ministry of National Solidarity of the Family and the Status of Women and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
Thus, the issue of this study sheds light on the practical mechanisms that would contribute to raising the quality of local school feeding in Algeria by strengthening the achievements of the programs of the African Union Commission on the one hand, and by striving to achieve quality standards endorsed by the United Nations and included in the Changing Education agenda, which envisions the embodiment of a transforming education system, prioritizes investment in learning and the learner. Among these devices, we find the technical sheets of school canteens, which will determine the specifications and the health standards to be respected in the preparation either of lunches for schoolchildren, or of a light meal (collation). By asking the following question: How to integrate quality standards into technical data sheets for school feeding in the Algerian education system?

General hypothesis
The quality standards are embodied in the technical sheets for both lunch and collations in the Algerian school through the application of the specific program to food groups and their relationships with age groups and the number of calories. for each age group.

Objectives of the study
This study aims to strengthen efforts to improve school feeding in Algeria using high quality local food products. As well as creating templates for school feeding data sheets to use as a reference to prepare healthy, high-quality meals for schoolchildren across Algeria.

The importance of the study
The interest of the study lies in the evaluation of applied policies and field practices in the development of references for the preparation of school canteens in Algeria, as well as in the correction of the cognitive course used in the basis of these references.

Nutrition
According to the World Health Organization, it is a set of processes implemented by the living human body to maintain the life, vitality, growth and proper functioning of organs and proteins, that's to say a term for insufficient, excessive or unbalanced consumption of food components (wilcock 2003, 23).

Nutrients
Food is transformed into composite nutrients by digestive juices. There are approximately 40 essential nutrients. They are essential for growth, reproduction and a healthy life and finally for productive and academic performance. Nutrients can be grouped into two broad categories: (Guțu 2021) − Macronutrients which are proteins, carbohydrates and lipids required by the body in large quantities and available to be transformed into energy; − Micronutrients which are vitamin and mineral substances, with no specific energy value, but necessary in very small quantities (milligrams or micrograms).

School feeding programs
School plays a very important role in efforts to create a world in which opportunities for economic growth reach poor children everywhere; As it is the place where the personalities of future leaders among scientists, politicians, thinkers and economists are formed. In the school, school feeding programs are presented as an attractive element that encourages students to attend them, and also, continuing to provide these nutritional programs on a daily basis to teachers who are going through the growth phase helps to keep them school, and therefore strong support for the mechanisms for achieving educational objectives on the other hand (Word food programme 2022).
In addition, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its interpretation and implementation of Article 24, and in General Comment No. 15, has stated that school feeding is desirable to ensure that all students receive a full meal every day, which also increases the children's standard of living. Interest in learning and school attendance. The Committee also recommended that this be combined with nutrition and health education (UNESCN 2017, 7). This is why researchers and specialists have stressed the need for food education for schoolchildren, and to start early; To positively influence one's eating habits, it is necessary to plan one's diet appropriately, according to healthy basics of health; This has been confirmed by the American Food Association (ADA) and the School Nutrition Association (SNA) regarding the consolidation of nutritional education concepts from primary school onwards, in order to ensure the improvement of nutritional status. , health and education. Teachers and the community as a whole, provided that this involves nutrition education for the family, teachers and the promotion of comprehensive and integrated nutrition services in schools (Marilyn 2010, 366).

School meal
It is about ensuring that every child in school has the opportunity to have a healthy and nutritious meal in schools (AFRICAN UNION 2022).

Method used
The nature of this study is to establish scientific content that meets the need of school nutrition administrators to prepare hot and light meals for teachers, using the analytical method of reference literature in the field of health and nutrition, as well as the consultation of nutritionists with the objective of enriching theoretical knowledge with practical mechanisms that take into account the intimacy of Algerian society.

Research community
The study contains two research communities, the first community is the literature related to healthy eating in general and school children's nutrition in particular. Based on content from the United Nations World Food Programme, under the slogan "Nutrition and Human Capital Development in Africa through Increased Investment in Local School Feeding", and a collection of group-specific scientific articles of foods and their relationship to age groups and the amount of calories for each of these groups.
As for the second research community, they are doctors specializing in nutrition (three doctors, including a dentist), who have contributed to meeting the requirements of the nutrition technical sheets by the high-quality factor as well as the particularities and customs of Algerian society.

Scientific research tools
In addition to the scientific observation used by the research team, two other tools were used: a content analysis guide to extract implications for school feeding and a semi-structured interview guide which was used in sessions with health professionals.

Basic macronutrient needs
The basic needs in energy, proteins and lipids are expressed in the table below   Source: (Guțu 2021) Illustrative micronutrient (vitamin) requirements are listed in the table below: Source: (Guțu 2021)

Recommendations from nutrition specialists
Following working sessions with nutrition specialists, the research team drew up a list of recommendations that will help in the development of technical data sheets. These recommendations are summarized as follows: ✓ Ensure a good nutritional balance by favouring complex carbohydrates and fibers at the expense of lipids and simple carbohydrates; ✓ Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, hulled barley, millet, whole wheat couscous, whole wheat bread and other whole grain products, which are more nutritious than white and are also economical; ✓ Eliminate (or limit as much as possible) sticky treats (caramel); ✓ Prefer beneficial combinations of bread + cheese + fruit for collations; ✓ Preferably choose fruit juices "without added sugar" reserved for collations; ✓ Water is the only drink at lunch; ✓ Minimize sugar in food; ✓ Order of food ingestion (order of food service) and preferences to preserve oral health: − During a meal, the last food ingested has a great impact on the duration of post-prandial acidification of dental plaque; − Thus, cheese consumed after a sweet dessert decreases the production of acids from carbohydrates.
Casein and other dairy proteins in cheeses protect the tooth by reducing its demineralization. ✓ Take child pathologies into account in school nutrition programs; ✓ Provide physical and cultural activities for children.

The Five Food Groups
Specialists have divided nutrients into five groups: (docteurclic 2022) 1. Milk and milk derivatives 2. Other products of animal origin 3. Plants (fruits and vegetables) 4. Fats, fatty substances 5. Starches and sugars To these five food groups are added micronutrients (mineral element and vitamins) and a few special cases such as charcuterie (pies, poultry, sausages), chocolate and dried fruits.
By applying these standards on local school nutrition, and in consultation with medical consultants, it was possible to develop five food groups adapted to the Algerian school environment: (James et Schofield 1990) (Galmiche 2011) (Bouaoud 2020).
The 1 st food group: it contains red meat such as beef and mutton, white meat such as chicken and turkey, fish, whole cheeses and yoghurt. By calculating the quantity needed per pupil to acquire the energy essential for the normal growth of the child.
The 2 nd food group: in the second group we find a variety of plant products such as legumes (chickpeas, lentils, dry beans) we also find some starches such as rice and kousskous. We add to this group the Green Olive. Legumes have many nutritional benefits. They are particularly rich in vegetable proteins, fibers, minerals and vitamins, and low in lipids; which gives them many benefits for our health, to the point that the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) even recommends eating them twice a week. (apivia 2022) The 3 rd Food Group: The third group contains high calorie starchy foods such as Pasta, Bread and Potato. They are an essential fuel for our body but on the other hand they are accused of promoting weight gain (docteurbonnebouffe 2021).
The 4 th food group: the fourth group contains fats and fatty substances, such as butter; oil and semen. Their richness in calories helps to prepare meals balanced in food.
The 5 th food group: in the fifth group we find the vegetables of the Mediterranean soup (Carrots, Zucchini, Turnip, green salad…). And also, we find local fruits and according to the season like dates, orange and apples.
Out of groups: we add to these five food groups some ingredients essential to Algerian cuisine, where we find the spices of the region (RAS-ELHANOUT, cumin, cinnamon, parsley, coriander powder, spicy or sweet red pepper, etc.), canned tomato and salt.
Note that all food products must be of good quality.

Weekly food plan
Following the previous data, a weekly food program for canteen meals and school collations has been prepared. For the canteen, we combined the five food groups in order to reach the 600 Kcal for lunch. And in the same way, reach 300 Kcal for each collation of the eight combinations offered. The goal of which is to have 900 Kcal between the two meals (lunch / collation).
The meal of the 1 st day consists of a varied salad, lentils, two hard-boiled eggs, a seasonal fruit and bread. Which gives us 550 Kcal. On the other hand, for the 2 nd day there are 640 Kcal, spread over a varied salad, pasta with beef, seasonal fruit and bread. And like the 1st day, at 550 Kcal, the meal of the 3 rd day is composed of a varied salad, TADJINE ZITOUNE (Green olive), chicken, cheese and bread. On the other hand, the energy balance of the 4 th day exceeded 600 Kcal, where we find 665 Kcal spread over a dish of rice with fish, a varied salad, seasonal fruit and bread. And we end the canteen meal program with the traditional Algerian dish: KOUSKOUS with mutton and Mediterranean vegetables, a varied salad and yogurt. Which gives us 589 Kcal of energy.
This canteen food program tried to respect the energy value for lunch (600 Kcal). And the shortcomings of meals with less than 600 Kcal were compensated by the food program of the collation, where there are eight combinations, their energy values varied between 250 and 382 Kcal. These collations contain basic foods such as bread, butter, jam, boiled eggs, yogurt, cheese. And it also contains foods of higher nutritional quality such as chocolate, dates, nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.) and nut biscuits.

Lunch / collation formulas
Combinations between the different rations of lunch (600 Kcal) and collation (300 Kcal), and to have an average of 900 Kcal per day, have given the following lunch / collation formulas:

Closing
The need for mainstreaming quality standards in school feeding fact sheets is highlighted by the United Nations Changing Education program guidelines, and the African Union Commission program guidelines on school nutrition. This integration of quality standards has made it possible to develop combinations between the different rations of lunch (600 Kcal) and collation (300 Kcal) to have an average of 900 Kcal per day.